Reading this felt particularly bleak with Goodreads recently axing its direct messaging feature, further driving an already declining site into the ground. It's like they want their users to – and I'm quoting another article about the internet here – "Stop Talking to Each Other and Start Buying Things." The tech giants are marching toward a technofeudalist system where they own everything, and we just rent the essentials from them. While painting this grim picture of today's world, Cory Doctor...

5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Audio format 🎧I don't usually dive into nonfiction much, but I'm seriously glad I picked this one up in 2025. Super insightful stuff about all the digital platforms we're hooked on, including this very one.Enshittification: Understanding and Reversing Tech's Decline really breaks down how tech companies have totally taken advantage of users and how their platforms have gone downhill.We're totally screwed unless these platforms get more regulation and we put a stop to the preda...

If you've noticed that everything has gotten worse---from basic Internet services, medical costs, automobiles, air travel, the movie industry, appliances, toys, streaming services, the intelligence level of our politicians, etc.---then you are witnessing what Cory Doctorow calls "Enshittification", which happens to be the title of his latest must-read book, *Enshittification: Understanding and Reversing Tech's Decline*. It's not just a clever, humorous title. It encapsulates a frightening truth ...

Enlightening, and depressing. I knew I needed to understand just how deeply we are being screwed by corporations, but man, it was hard to hear it all explained in a way that validated everything I suspected and noticed. If you're looking for insightful book reviews about the tech industry, this is it.Cory Doctorow, I both love you and hate you for the brain bomb you set off in my head with Enshittification: Understanding and Reversing Tech's Decline.Throughout all of the examples given from all ...

Surprise, surprise, Enshittification: Understanding and Reversing Tech's Decline is a shit book. That's honestly a shame because the subject matter is extremely important and needs far more attention. I really want to understand what causes "enshittification" and how to fight it. But it's just so damn boring. I kept zoning out or getting distracted by my PC or phone... I DNF'd it at 20% because I couldn't stand Cory Doctorow's snarky, sassy, annoying writing style combined with the extremely bor...

Slight spoiler alert, but I absolutely love that Cory Doctorow dedicates 250 pages of "Enshittification: Understanding and Reversing Tech's Decline" to meticulously explaining what "enshittification" actually means. He delivers incredibly detailed and valuable lessons on how it operates, how to identify it, and how to analyze it. And then, with only 5 pages remaining, Doctorow basically throws his hands up and says, "Just fucking run with it. Bastardize the idea!" It's because he recognizes that...

*added a star 1/2/26"Here’s the natural history of enshittification: 1. First, platforms are good to their users. 2. Then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers.3. Next, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. 4. Finally, they have become a giant pile of shit." p16Holy sh-t, I need to catch my breath.Pre-Read Notes:I'm not super familiar with Cory Doctorow's work, but I know this term from other people who think about the ...

3.5 ⭐As a millennial who grew up on the internet, I've seen the humble, amazing beginnings of everything. From MySpace bulletins to the early days of Facebook (back so far as when we had to have a mandatory "First Name Last Name is" before every status update), I remember when the internet was this cool thing that lived in the "computer room" at your parents' house where you could visit after school and enjoy such luxuries as a chronological feed and apps like Echofon keeping Twitter accessible ...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!I wasn't familiar with Cory Doctorow's work, but I had heard of the concept of "enshittification" and, as someone who is old enough to remember what the internet *used* to be like, I jumped at the chance to understand how and why things have changed. Plus, the thesis that we users *can* actually do something about it (well...). My impressions are based solely on reading *Enshittification: Understanding an...

4 stars - Don't let the cute cover trick you; this is a seriously important book about how the internet and the world around us have become so… well, crappy (see what I did there?). Using thoroughly researched examples from various major corporations, Cory Doctorow clearly illustrates the capitalistic cycle of 💩 – from initial excitement, functionality, and innovation, to prioritizing corporate and shareholder profits over end-users and then business customers, ultimately leading to total dysfu...